Kiwi Ukulele has some great reviews and after reading it
myself I can see the praise is well deserved. I bought this book after a quick
flick through at the local music store and have found myself picking it up
again and again. I recommend it to anyone learning the ukulele - it really does
have everything you need to know as a kiwi ukulele player.

Monday, 23 July 2012

Tuning is important. Even a well played song will sound bad on a poorly tuned instrument. Because ukulele strings can stretch, it’s good to know how to tune it yourself. Playing on a tuned ukulele is better for
your ears and mine!

The strings on the ukulele are numbered and named as
follows: 1st A, 2nd E, 3rd C, and 4th
G.

The 1st string is the one closest to the ground.
When you see a chord diagram like the one above, imagine you have the ukulele
sitting face up in your lap. The metal bars are called frets. To make a fretted
note you place your finger close behind (not on top of) each fret.

With a piano or electronic tuner, tune the 3rd
string to C. Next play the 4th
fret on the C string. This will give
you an E. Tune the 2nd
string to E. This may take some
practice but try playing both strings together until the E string sounds the same as the E note played at the 4th fret of the C string.

Then tune the 4th string by playing the G note on the 3rd fret of
the E string. Make sure you are happy
that the G string now matches the
note played at the 3rd fret of the E string by plucking them both together.

Finally play the 2nd fret of the G string. This will give you A. Tune the 1st string to A.

Hint: Tightening the string up will
raise the pitch, while tuning down
means loosening the string and lowers the pitch. When tuning your ukulele, tune
up to the note. This may involve
tuning a string down a little too
far and then back up to where it is
perfect.

Thursday, 19 July 2012

Welcome to the site for my music students. I will post information here that you can use to sharpen your skills or practice what we have been learning. Keep coming back to see if new items have been added.